Metal-Ligand Interactions: From Atoms, to Clusters, to Surfaces

Book excerpt: Metal-ligand interactions are currently being studied in different fields, from a variety of points of view, and recent progress has been substantial. Whole new classes of compounds and reactions have been found; an arsenal of physical methods has been developed; mechanistic detail can be ascertained to an increasingly minute degree; and the theory is being developed to handle systems of ever-growing complexity. As usual, such multidisciplinarity leads to great opportunities, coupled with great problems of communication between specialists. It is in its promotion of interactions across these fields that Metal-Ligand Interactions: From Atoms, to Clusters, to Surfaces makes its timely contribution: the tools, both theoretical and experimental, are highly developed, and fundamental questions remain unanswered. The most fundamental of these concerns the nature of the microscopic interactions between metal atoms (clusters, surfaces) and ligands (atoms, molecules, absorbates, reagents, products) and the changes in these interactions during physical and chemical transformation. In Metal-Ligand Interactions, leading experts discuss the following, vital aspects: ab initio theory, semi-empirical theory, density functional theory, complexes and clusters, surfaces, and catalysis.